The Attorney General of Arizona is an elected state executive officer established by the Arizona Constitution. The attorney general is the chief legal officer of the state of Arizona and head of the Department of Law. He or she represents the state in civil suits, provides legal advice to state agencies and officials, enforces consumer protection and civil rights laws, and prosecutes cases involving some financial and drug-related crimes.[1]

Current officeholder

The current attorney general is RepublicanMark Brnovich. Brnovich was sworn into office on January 5, 2015, for a four-year term expiring in January 2019. He succeeded one-term incumbent Attorney General Tom Horne (R). Brnovich unseated Horne in the GOP primary and won the general election on November 4, 2014.[2]

Authority

The office of attorney general is established by the Arizona Constitution as part of the state's executive department.

The executive department shall consist of the governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, attorney general, and superintendent of public instruction...

Qualifications

The Arizona Constitution requires all of the officers in the state's executive department, including the attorney general, to be at least 25 years old, a U.S. citizen for 10 years, and an Arizona resident for five years.

No person shall be eligible to any of the offices mentioned in section 1 of this article except a person of the age of not less than twenty-five years, who shall have been for ten years next preceding his election a citizen of the United States, and for five years next preceding his election a citizen of Arizona.

Arizona law further requires the attorney general to have been a "practicing attorney before the supreme court of the state" for five years.[3]

The attorney general shall have been for not less than five years immediately preceding the date of taking office a practicing attorney before the supreme court of the state.

Elections

Arizona state government organizational chart

Arizonans elect their attorney general in midterm election years (2006, 2010, 2014, etc.) for a term of four years. The winner assumes office on the first Monday of January after his or her election. If no candidates receives a majority (over 50%) of the votes, a runoff election is held between the two candidates that received the largest amount. If the two candidates in the runoff receive an equal number of votes, the state legislature chooses a winner.

A. The executive department shall consist of the governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, attorney general, and superintendent of public instruction, each of whom shall hold office for a term of four years beginning on the first Monday of January, 1971 next after the regular general election in 1970.

B. B. The person having a majority of the votes cast for the office voted for shall be elected. If no person receives a majority of the votes cast for the office, a second election shall be held as prescribed by law between the persons receiving the highest and second highest number of votes cast for the office. The person receiving the highest number of votes at the second election for the office is elected, but if the two persons have an equal number of votes for the office, the two houses of the legislature at its next regular session shall elect forthwith, by joint ballot, one of such persons for said office.

Vacancies

Duties

The attorney general is chief legal officer of the state. He or she "represents and provides legal advice to most State agencies; enforces consumer protection and civil rights laws; and prosecutes criminals charged with complex financial crimes and certain conspiracies involving illegal drugs."[4] The attorney general brings and defends lawsuits on behalf of the state and also handles all appeals from felony convictions in the state.

The attorney general also represents some local government agencies, such as school districts or municipalities, in disputes related to conflicts of interest and antitrust/price-fixing activities.

Divisions

The attorney general's office is the largest law office in Arizona, with approximately 400 attorneys and 1,000 employees. The Attorney General's Office is divided into the following departments:[4]

Commission members meet prior to June 1 of each even-numbered year to produce salary recommendations for the governor. The governor may accept, reject or modify recommendations prior to delivery to state legislators. The legislature has 90 days following the governor's transmission of the recommendations to reject or modify salary proposals. If no changes are made, the commission's recommendations take effect following the next election for applicable offices.[7][8]

2012

2010

In 2010, the attorney general received compensation in the amount of $90,000.[10]

Historical officeholders

Note: Ballotpedia's state executive officials project researches state official websites for chronological lists of historical officeholders. That information for the Attorney General of Arizona has not yet been added because the information was unavailable on the relevant state official websites, or we are currently in the process of formatting the list for this office. If you have any additional information about this office for inclusion on this section and/or page, please email us.

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